Christ's Disciples
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Christ’s Disciples The Official Calling of the Disciples which reveals the circumstantial background to the moment He saw Simon and Andrew. Apparently Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20 He was on His way somewhere else, perhaps from Christ has now moved to Capernaum, which will Nazareth to Capernaum. become His headquarters. Matthew would later He saw the two brothers, as they were casting a net call this city Jesus’ own. in the sea, for the purpose of fishing. Now Christ has already had an impact on these four disciples; they have come to believe through So Christ gave them a command - DEUTE OPISO John the Baptist’s ministry, and through Christ’s MOU - literally translated, ’come after me.” Both word. accounts agree to the exact wording. But it is time for Christ to put His disciples to the Principle: This is the inspired retelling of this event. work of the Lord, so he put them on recall. It is more probable that Christ spoke this command in Aramaic, the language of the day for the region. Matthew 4:18-22: “And walking by the Sea of But, when two gospel writers agree on the exact Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Greek translation, you can rest assured that the Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into spirit of the Aramaic has been captured, without the sea; for they were fisherman. And He said to any loss of meaning. them, ‘Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ And immediately leaving the nets, and fol- When two or more gospel writers disagree on the lowed Him. And going on from there He saw two exact Greek translation, then the multiple accounts other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John must harmonize to bring full meaning. The differ- his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, ences are the work of God the Holy Spirit as well, mending their nets; and He called them. And they and they make the narrative better, not worse. immediately left the boat and their father, and fol- The second half of Christ’s words of recall to His lowed Him.” disciples has to do with their mission. They are Mark 1:16-20: “And as He was passing through going to be fishers of men. by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and An- Mark adds one note to the account of Matthew, and drew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the that is the word GENESTHAI. This is the aorist sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to middle infinite of the deponent verb GINOMAI, ‘to them,”Come after Me, and I will make you be- become.’ come fishers of men.” And immediately leaving the nets, they followed Him . And going on a little far- Mark’s meaning is a little more graphic as to the ther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John nature of their transformation. It concentrates on his brother, who were also in the boat [with oth- function, and not quality. ers] mending the nets. And immediately He called The aorist tense tells us that the transformation them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat from fishermen to fishers of men will be immediate. with the hired servants, and went away to follow In other words, they will make the switch immedi- Him.” ately. Second, there is no mention of quality here; Both writers agree completely with the details of they may have been crummy at first. the calling of Simon and Andrew. But remember, Christ had given them intensive Christ was walking, passing through by the shore training just a few months before, when they down of the sea of Galilee, just as we left Him in Luke 4. by the river Jordan. They would have had some It is the adverbial present participle, PARAGON, frame of reference for what they were about to do. Grace Notes, a ministry of Austin Bible Church http://gracenotes.info/ Christ’s Disciples 2 The disciples’ response is immediate and sure - leav- The tax collectors made their living by inflating the ing their nets they followed Him. The adverb of Roman taxes. They essentially worked on commis- time EUTHUS leaves no question as to their obe- sion. dience. Tax collectors were wealthy, but hated by their These men already had built up a certain amount own society. They had to live with a tremendous of trust in Christ. They were believers in Him, and amount of prejudice. had begun to know Him. Because of this prejudice their social options were Their nets were left right where they lay, and their severely limited. They could only socialize with boats, and their families. others who were outcasts. The calling of the second pair of disciples runs very It was easy for Matthew to follow Christ, consid- much the same as the first. ering his personal circumstances. Social isolation does not make it easy to enjoy personal wealth. This time, Christ just ‘calls’ them. The implication No doubt he knew of the supernatural essence of is that His words are the same as those that went Christ’s ministry, and he may have even heard Him out to Andrew and Peter. speak. It is often the outcast that finds it easiest They too follow immediately. to follow Christ. These four are the only ones mentioned in the nar- Matthew is a rich man who defied the odds. rative, and so are likely the only ones with Him Remember Matthew if you are an outcast. during this time. It would be only a short while until the call of Matthew, and a little more time John Boanerges until the twelve are officially appointed. Cousin “according to the flesh” of Jesus Christ. The Disciples Brother of James (not the epistle writer). A native of Galilee. John’s mother Salome was a follower of Matthew Jesus, and ministered to Him of her own means. God used an outcast. His name is a transliteration John was a fisherman of the Sea of Galilee, his life of the Aramaic word which means gift of God. was hard work, but apparently it had paid off for his In his own Gospel, Matthew uses his regular name. family, because they had servants, and were able to In other gospels, the name Levi is used. It is likely support the ministry of Jesus Christ. Galilee was a that Matthew became his name after his conver- region somewhat analogous to the U.S. South not sion. too long ago. It is conservative to a fault, and more than a little rebellious in character. The fires Matthew was a Jewish tax collector. It is likely of rebellion flamed openly in this region. In reality that he was fairly well off financially because of his a lot of senseless violence took place in the name profession. This makes his decision to follow Christ of the zealot movement, but there was very little all the more remarkable, because he left it all be- virtue. This time was somewhat analogous to that hind - Lk 5:28. It is likely that he worked at the of Northern Ireland today. toll house in Capernaum. Great humility - When he decided to follow our Lord, he threw a When John the Baptist points out Jesus as the Mes- big party, and invited all his friends. His decision siah, John follows without delay. to follow Christ was immediate. Never mentions own name in own Gospel. As a tax collector, Matthew was an outcast in Jew- ish society. He apparently had no friends who were Nicknamed, with brother James as the “Sons of devout in the Jewish faith for at his party there Thunder”, a reference to their manner in Word and were only other tax collectors and sinners. Deed, Mk 3:17. It is likely that they had a fair amount of Zealot ideals in their heads. The Roman tax collectors were hated by the Jews because the Roman taxes were in addition to the Outspoken about his faith from the start. Jewish taxes. “The disciple whom Jesus loved” - was the closest They were also hated because they represented the to Jesus of the inner circle of Peter, James, and occupying forces of the Roman Empire. John. Grace Notes, a ministry of Austin Bible Church http://gracenotes.info/ Christ’s Disciples 3 Was the only eyewitness to the cross among the dis- Such a project would have placed the Messiah on ciples, and he was eyewitness to the resurrection, equal footing with the two prophets. John 20. Such a project hinted at the necessity for these One of the “Pillars of the Church”, Gal 2:9. Paul three to grow spiritually when all three were in a had a high regard for him. completed state. Took over as chief of Apostles some time in the late In other words, Peter fails to think rationally before 70’s. he speaks. Did not start writing until late in life. At Christ’s prediction of Peter’s denial, Matt 26:35. Peter replies, “Even if I have to die with You, I His writing reflects the 50+ years of careful thought will not deny you.” (All the disciples said the same about the life of Christ and the Christian life. thing too). Under his ministry, Ephesus became the center of Peter is the instigator here. All the disciples follow the pivot which gave the Roman Empire its great- his heroic statement. est time of prosperity under the Antonine Caesars, 98-180 A.D.